Something from the Other Side
by MSupernatural
Summary: After the train incident in the beginning of Harry's third year, when he misses his parents the most, the BWL is visited by an odd boy who tells him something hard to believe... In fact, something from the other side... No pairings for now. Earthbound spirits. Not as dark as it seems. Slightly AU.
1. A visitor

**Something From the Other Side**

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter does not belong to me.

* * *

Harry Potter was miserable. No, he was a total wreck, actually. The embarrassment he felt for fainting because of the dementor was nothing compared to the utter sadness which had overcome him since that terrible event the previous night.

It was his mother. Harry was sure of it now, that scream belonged to the woman who had given her own life to save him from the maniac that had decided to kill his family for a reason he wasn't even aware of. And it was because of this sick bastard that Harry didn't have his parents with him, and he had to live with his terrible relatives.

The BWL was alone, sitting under a tree near the lake. If he weren't so caught up in his misery, he would have found it amusing that, on a Sunday, September 2nd, there wasn't a living soul outside the castle. Not even the Giant Squid had shown up today, which meant Harry was totally alone.

Not that the scrawny boy cared. After spending basically his whole life alone, he was used to it already. No, today, Harry wanted to be left alone, soaked up on the negative roller coaster of feelings we was having: Despair, Sadness, Loneliness, Miss, Bitterness and a hint of Guilt.

You may believe it or not, but Harry had never been one to complain about things, no matter how bad they were. But hey, being forced to listen to your mother screaming right before dying? He was entitled for some brooding, so to say...

So there he was, dressed on his school robes, 'enjoying' his Sunday, before the actual beginning of classes the following day. He knew Ron and Hermione were surely looking for him, as he had woken up and had breakfast before them, and, up to now, almost lunchtime, he hadn't made any contact with his friends. They would be pissed, but Harry couldn't give a rat's arse. They would complain, saying there's a mental convict roaming free, so it was dangerous, and whatnot.

Hermione and Ron didn't understand, however, did they? They both had their parents, so they never knew what to say. "Oh, Harry..." Hermione would say, her eyes showing pity, while Ron's support was much more silent, but equally pitiful.

Harry was there, but he wasn't at the same time, anyway; His mind was a mess, while he mercilessly pulled the pieces of grass around himself. Bottom of the wheel. That's why he didn't even notice the small boy arriving until said boy cleared his throat.

Harry's head snapped up, his eyes bulging out. He ended up startling the boy some much he ended taking two steps back.

The boy was short and thin. In fact, almost as thin as Harry, which was saying something. But Harry could notice the little boy couldn't be any older than 11. His eyes were light blue and his hair was blond, but a closer shade to brown, other than white, like Malfoy's. The boy's clothes were hand-me-downs, that much was obvious to Harry, as his own were as well. Well, apart from the school robes he had gotten, but the boy wasn't wearing any robes, only muggle clothes.

Almost a full minute had passed and the boy kept staring at Harry with wide eyes and his mouth opened.

"Is there anything I can help you with, or you have all the intention to keep staring at me?" Harry snapped, with a scowl. He just didn't feel like being nice today.

That worked somehow. The little boy closed his mouth and turned his head towards the lake, but not to it, actually, but some point over it. He looked right away scared and embarrassed, which was proved by the deep shade of red that started to rise from his neck and just stopped when his whole face was red.

'Great.' Harry thought, sighing. 'Now I made a firstie miserable.' Kicking himself, Harry decided to say something else to break that awkward silence.

"You should be wearing your robes, you know?" The haven haired boy said. "If a teacher catches you, they will tell you off."

The short boy turned back to Harry, curiosity evident on his face.

"Yeah, it doesn't matter if it's a Sunday, or if you are a first year, you have to wear robes if you are a student here..." Harry said.

"I-I... I am not a s-student." The boy stuttered.

Harry felt something was definitely wierd there upon hearing the boy. His voice... his voice was childish. Too childish, even for an eleven year old boy. Analysing the boy a little bit better, the green eyed boy noticed the blond boy was a good foot shorter than him, which was supposed to mean something, as Harry had always been malnourished, which made people say he was shorter and scrawnier than he should be for his age.

"You are not a student?" Harry said, now curious.

"Y-you are H-Harry Potter, aren't you?" the boy asked, ignoring Harry's question. His anxiety seemed to be back.

Harry closed his eyes. 'Oh, this can't be good. First, I faint because of... Now, some boy is looking for me. Great start for a year.' He thought. "Yes, I am". He replied, after opening his eyes with a sigh. "And you are?"

The boy seemed to get even more nervous, turning back towards a point over the lake, before looking back at Harry. His blue eyes shone like little diamonds, but Harry seemed to notice how distressed the boy really was.

"M-my name is E-Edward." Another glimpse towards the lake. Somehow, Edward seemed to find the strength he needed to say whatever it was he wanted to say, because, when he stared back at Harry, all jitters had left him, and the Boy Who Lived saw only resolution in them. What he said, though, caught Harry totally unprepared. "My name is Edward. And I have a message from your father, James."

* * *

** A.N.:** This idea kept swimming inside my head, so I decided to give it a try. This is just the beginning, but I hope you guys get to understand a bit of what's going on. The next chapter will be out soon enough, probably by the end of the week or so, and then you'll get to understand it a bit better.

I don't have a beta, so I had to double check it myself. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes I didn't catch. I know it's not an excuse, but English is not my mother tongue, so pay no mind to these mistakes/errors...

And if you feel like it, please, leave a review...


	2. Hard feelings

**Something From the Other Side**

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter does not belong to me.

* * *

To say that Harry Potter was surprised would have been an understatement. No, better, that would've been the understatement of the year.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, his eyebrows hiding under his fringe.

The Boy Who Lived tried to search for any signs of fun or amusement on the scrawny boy's face to prove he was being pranked, but he could find none. The only thing Harry could see was absolute resolution, as if the little boy didn't mean anything else other than what he had said.

"I have a message. To you, from your father James." He said again, staring deep into Harry's eyes, apparently unaware of his incredulity. "He wanted me to..."

The boy stopped talking and took one step backwards, as Harry stood up quickly. His temper raised so fast, he didn't even notice he had stood and had closed his hands into fists. His eyes were narrowed and fixed on the little boy, whose courage was then gone for good, and his face, once filled with certainty, now showed fear, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly opened.

"What THE HELL to you think you're joking about?" Harry shouted, his nails digging into his palms. Little Edward didn't say or do anything, but his lower lip started trembling.

"Yo-your father... he-" the boy stuttered. Harry growled.

"Get away from me before I force you to!" He said, sharply.

"B-but-" Edward said, his confidence long gone.

Harry took another step forward, threateningly. He didn't care if was acting like a jerk, or if the boy was visibly shivering in front of him. He wouldn't be pranked, principally if it was something related to his parents.

After another quick glance towards the same point over the lake, the little boy looked again at Harry with his blue eyes already filled with tears, hurt evident in them. Then, in a matter of seconds, he turned around and ran away.

Harry couldn't help but feel a bit worse than he had been before, but at least the blond boy was gone, leaving the green-eyed teenager to dwell on his own misery a little bit more.

* * *

It was already getting dark when Harry finally made it to the Common Room. He wasn't exactly happy, but at least he wasn't feeling very whiny, which was good enough for him. He had decided to call it a day nonetheless, so he started to make his way up to go to bed. What he didn't count on, though, was to be stopped by a girl with bushy brown hair and a tall red-haired boy full of freckles. He sighed deeply when he saw them blocking the way to the stairs, both of them looking rather annoyed.

"Harry!" The girl, Hermione, said. "Where have you been all day?" She had her hands on her hips, and angry expression on her face. Harry didn't see it, though, as he had barely looked up to properly acknowledge his friends.

"Yeah, mate, we've been worried sick!" Ron didn't seem angry at all, but a little bit relieved, and tired.

As soon as his two friends took a better look at him, their expressions changed to worry.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione said, closing the distance between themselves and putting a hand on his shoulder. She had seen Harry brooding many times before; this time, however, she could see her friend was completely worn out, something that scared her a little, as she had never seen him in such a condition before. Ron seemed to be feeling the same, but apparently he believed much more on silent support.

"'mm okay, Mione." Harry said, his gaze still down. "I just wanted to be alone, that's all." He then turned and made his way into the dormitory.

The brown-haired witch bit her lower lip. It was obvious to her friend was far from okay. Sharing a quick glance with Ron, they followed their friend inside.

It was probably a good thing there wasn't anybody inside. Harry changed into his pajamas (Hermione had the decency of looking elsewhere. Not that Harry seemed to even notice she was there) and climbed his bed.

"Mate." Ron tried, only barely saying the word. "Dinner hasn't even been served yet..."

"I don't care, I'm not hungry." Harry mumbled.

"Harry, have you eaten anything the whole day?" Hermione asked softly. She didn't get an answer, which, of course, was one nonetheless.

"Listen, Harry, you can't keep on feeling down because of what happened-" Hermione tried.

"Because what happened, Hermione?" Harry finally snapped, sitting on his bed. His face was contorted in anger, which made both his friends slightly and absently go backwards. "Are you talking about the fact that I fainted because of the dementor thing or that my parents died to save me?" *

"Chill, mate, we are just trying to be at your side..." Ron intervened.

"Well, I don't want you by my side now. I want to be ALONE, as I have ALWAYS BEEN!" Harry shouted, and with a strong pull, he closed the curtains around his bed, leaving his friends stunned on the other side.

* * *

Harry's spirits didn't get much higher the following day. He didn't act angry anymore, though, and had acted civil towards his friends, even if he hadn't mentioned anything from the previous day. Of course Ron and Hermione knew better than to try to make him open up, but they still stayed around, giving their, albeit silent, unwavering support.

Deep inside, Harry just wanted to go through the day without giving too much of a thought about his parents or the incident on the train, but every time he had nothing in his mind, his thoughts seemed to wander back to those specific topics. Classes were a blissful break of the idleness he felt during the day, so Harry, for the first time, paid all his attention to the professor, no matter what class it was.

It wasn't until the following day that the Boy Who Lived started speaking normally to his friends, and it wasn't until the beginning of the weekend when he was back to his normal/abnormal self.

Harry hadn't stopped to think about the little boy more than once or twice during these days, but, as the weekend got closer, his curiosity started showing up. He hadn't seen the boy around anymore (not that he had looked for him, anyway), and Harry still didn't have any clues about who he was. He could always ask someone, but he hadn't told anybody about that brief encounter, not even Hermione or Ron. Too many questions, he guessed.

Sunday finally arrived again, and Harry had decided he wanted to go visit Hagrid.

"I'm going to help Ron with his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework." Hermione replied when Harry invited them to join him, and, while Ron seemed tempted to go outside as well, a glare from the smart witch had him saying "Sorry, mate, Professor Lupin is the best ever, but his homework is surely a great pain in the..."

"Language, Ron!" Hermione snapped. Harry grinned, he couldn't agree any less, with both statements, by the way: while Professor Lupin's homework was indeed difficult, he was the best teacher they had. He was not only excellent at teaching, like Prof. McGonagall and Prof. Flitwick, but he was nice and gentle and funny, as Hagrid. And he didn't show them potential killers like the latter, either (the hippogriff incident still sent shivers down Harry's spine).

While Harry got closer to Hagrid's Hut, feeling quite glad he had taken the opportunity to do all his homework while he didn't want to have free time, he finally saw the boy again, sat, alone, behind one of the big stones of Sundial Garden, the stone circle close to the Covered Bridge. Harry barely noticed the boy, as he was quite hid behind one of the biggest boulders, and because it was one of the farthest away.

Before stopping to think through about what he was doing, Harry walked up to the little boy, somehow not being noticed until he was just beside the blond lad. The boy jumped and hit himself hard against the big stone, his eyes filled with pain and fright. Harry's heart seemed to have met the same destiny Draco's arm had, and now it was shredded as if a hippogriff had fought it.

Sensing the boy was about to run away, Harry decided to say something.

"Hey, listen." He said with a calm voice that seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the little boy. "I'm sorry about the other day. I thought you were making fun of me." The boy seemed to relax a bit, but his uncertainty was still very palpable. With a sigh, Harry added. "Look, let's just start it all again." Harry reached for the little boy's hand, giving it a light shake. "I'm Harry Potter."

"E-Edward." The blond boy said, his voice barely higher than a whisper. Harry gave him a faint smile and moved to sit beside the place the boy, Edward, had been sat. After a few seconds, the boy sat, still very uncomfortable and self-conscious.

"So, Edward. I see you are not wearing your robes again. What house do you belong to?" Harry decided that some light conversation would be better than talking about... that. Edward gave him a confused look again.

"I-I don't s-study here." Whichever answers Harry were expecting, that wasn't one. It took him almost a minute to recover from his surprise. He had never heard about a child who didn't study there wandering around Hogwarts.

"What are you doing here, then?" Harry asked, still slightly taken aback.

"Well..." Edward said. He looked at Harry, who could see the boy was afraid to say whatever he was going to say. "I came here because your father asked me to." He finished, barely audible.

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"My father has been... gone for almost twelve years. You surely weren't even born when... it all happened." Harry tried to ignore the pain in his chest as he said that. He finally looked back at the other boy and held his gaze. He seemed to be in an internal battle, as if he wanted to do something but didn't know if he should.

"This might be difficult to understand." Edward eventually said, after some seconds that felt like minutes to Harry. "Sometimes, when the person dies, they continue here."

"Are you talking about ghosts?" Harry asked. Was his father a ghost then? He couldn't help but think about a taller version of himself wearing Nearly Headless Nick's clothes.

"No, no, not a ghost." Edward said, shaking his head. "Some... people believe they are called Earthbound Spirits."

Harry stared at the ground between his legs, thinking. He had never actually thought about what made a wizard or a witch become a ghost, much less about the possibility of existing other kinds of people in similar conditions. Before voicing his doubts, though, Edward started talking again.

" I heard that ghosts were people who decided they wanted to stay behind, because they were afraid of moving on, or because, well, they just really didn't want to die." The boy said, matter-of-factly, but then, his expression got considerably darker. "And then, there are earthbound spirits. They always seem to be so surprised by the fact they are dead. And they normally die in tragic or fast way, like being killed or in an accident."

The boy seemed lost in his thoughts for a few seconds. Harry didn't really know what to say, so he kept silent. He didn't know if he was more stunned by the hard-to-believe story, or by the maturity of the young boy. He was surely young, that much was obvious, but his words were filled with experience and feelings.

"They seem to be stuck between moving on and staying behind, you know... They are always talking about having to do something, or that someone is waiting for them." The boy continued, snapping Harry out of his thoughts. "Your f... I have some friends who say they have 'unfinished business'."

"Why can you see them while I can't?" Harry asked, his head a little bit bowed, staring down, while he pulled more and more pieces of grass off of the ground between his legs, his hesitance making it obvious he wasn't really sure about the whole thing. It didn't mean, though, that Harry Potter did not believe in the fact brought up by the blond boy. He just didn't know what to think of it yet.

It took him some minutes to turn his head to the boy, wondering why Edward hadn't said anything. Harry saw two big round blue eyes, and the intensity of the boy's feelings make him shudder inside. He saw many emotions there, none of which he liked.

"I don't know, okay? I just see them. I haven't met other people who can see them, but I have always seen them. Since I was a little kid, they were around, desperately trying to make people talk to them, do what they wanted, or even screaming things or names." It seemed something had broken free. Edward's eyes visibly lost focus, and some small tears started forming, but the boy continued speaking, while Harry listened in horror, his mouth a bit gaped. "If they sense I can see them, they come and ask me to help them. If I can, they get happy and move on, some times only then realising their condition. They don't understand they are dead. They never now they are, I mean, because if they focus enough, or if they get emotional enough, they can touch or even move things. But then, if I can't help them, or if they stay around alone for long, they start getting... mad. Scary. They become less human. Until one day, they just... break. And then they become less like humans and more like animals or monsters." Tears ran freely on Edward's face, Harry's utter shock kept him silent, only absorbing painfully every word the other said. "They either scream or mumble irrational things, tear themselves and their clothes up. Sometimes they try to t-tear m-me up."

Edward hid his face in his hands, sobbing. Harry awkwardly tried to comfort him by putting a hand on his shoulder, making the boy flinch and snapped his head up, relaxing a bit after seeing it was just Harry. They gave each other silent support for sometime before the blond boy decided to speak again.

"Harry... What I need to tell you is... Some years ago, when I was living in an wizard orphanage, I accidently found another of those spirits." His voice was but a whisper. "He was desperately calling your name, Harry. At first, I didn't know it was you, the Harry Potter. But that man was so, so sad, it hurt to see it." Edward glanced a little over Harry's shoulder, which made the green eyed boy to feel an eerie sensation regarding that direction.

"That man, Harry, turned out to be your father. He looked terrible, completely worn out, and he seemed about to lose it. But he was still sane." The boy's blue eyes, now entirely dry, shone beautifully, while a shy smile began to form in his lips. "He just wanted to know where you were, how you were, if you were okay. As I told him so, he calmed down. And, after some time, he managed to convince me to come here and tell you this."

Harry let go a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. And then he made himself inhale sharply. Had he forgotten how to breath properly?

"Is... Is my f-father... here?" He asked, almost breathless. His voice was shaky and he felt goosebumps all over his body.

What Harry couldn't see, on the side that wasn't occupied by Edward, was the tall, thin but muscled man, with hazel eyes and untidy hair, smiling and crying softly at the same time.

The blond boy smiled genuinely. "Yes. He's here."

"W-what... what is h-he d-doing?" Harry almost didn't hear himself, so low his voice was. A hurricane of emotions was roaring inside him, making it impossible for him to feel anything. He felt so many things that he ended up feeling nothing at all.

"Now, he's crying, of joy, apparently, and he's raising his hand. I think he is going to..."

Harry didn't need Edward to finish whatever it was he was saying. Because just as the blond boy was speaking, he felt the soft and strangely warm touch on his shoulder. His whole body felt numb, as if it concentrated everything on his shoulder to be able to feel that.

And then, Harry didn't feel anything anymore as darkness flooded him completely.

* * *

**A.N.:** There you go, guys. This is where this story is going. I hope you enjoyed it. Please, overlook the mistakes and errors, this chapter hasn't been beta-ed. There are some things that may seem strange or even incoherent, but I decided to make things this way. Many things are going to change, and remember that Edward might not be right about everything he said. Another thing is, as you can see, I changed some things from canon. Harry knew it was his mother screaming, okay? I changed that. Hope you don't mind too much. haha

See you later! ;)


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